Don't Forget to Catch the Bouquet
by Fearless Fault
Summary: A struggling family helps their smallest member prepare for a very special wedding and with any luck the big day will mean big things for them in return. (Warning: slight alteration to in game events. Part of my "Elder Scribbles" collection.)


A small childlike form is settled upon a straw stuffed mattress. Behind her; nimble fingers separate and weave her chocolate brown tresses in delicate patterns. In her lap rests a bouquet of pale blue flowers and their petals fall prey to her idle hands as she picks at them. The woman she sits before is beautiful, a vision composed of golden hair and vibrant eyes. The touch of her hand is soft and almost matronly, taking tremendous care not to pull or tangle the little girl's hair as she pleats it.

However the girl would not notice such a tug for she is far too distracted by the excitement bubbling in her petite body. For you see a special occasion arrives on the morrow, a solemn duty looming close. For she is going to partake in a celebration of joy, a gala and ceremony so important it has been all she has thought about for the last few days. She is going to a wedding.

Ah but not just any wedding, oh no, she is to attend what will likely be the most talked about wedding of the decade and things could not be happier or look brighter for her and her family. Even if the woman now tying ribbons into her hair is not her real mother, or any of her siblings mother it doesn't matter for since she came to lead the family the little girl has known no other matron. Because the woman has done her very best to protect and lead her family... even as tragedy dogged their every step and hard times fell like raindrops on their heads. And for that the little girl's loyalty is unwavering.

"You are awfully silent…"

The little girl shrugs as those words interrupt her thoughts. "I was just thinking of tomorrow, I really like weddings. Everyone dressed so nicely and all the sweets I'll get to eat… It will be soo much fun."

"Yes but don't forget you have a job to do, after all everything needs to be perfect at a wedding such as the one you're going to." The woman ties the last of the ribbons in places and slides off the bed to get something from her bedside table.

"I know, and don't worry it will go perfectly. I know exactly what I have to do." She smiles up at the blonde woman just as two of her brothers enter with a pretty dress held between them. It is as blue as the flowers in her lap and trimmed in fragile white lace. She races to put it on, snatching it giddily from their hands and disregarding the reprimand that follows.

"Careful, I really do not want to have to mend that again," cautions the older one with thin arms folded over an equally thin torso. He is not related to her by blood but rather in other ways and as far as she is concerned that is enough. To his left her favorite sibling smirks, clasping a mahogany hued hand over her other brother's lofty shoulder.

"What's the worry? You did well enough the first time around after all. Though I am surprised you know how to sow," chuckles her favorite of the two as he steps fully into the room to have a word with their matron.

"It is just something I picked up over the years… it comes in handy. Never the less we do not have time to spend another two hours trying to fix a rent seam."

They are both much taller and more developed than the little girl but that doesn't bother her in the slightest. She has come to appreciate being small and all the advantages that go with it. As she pulls her finished dress over her head she claps her hands together in girlish glee, catching sight of her reflection in a long mirror. She looks lovely, the epitome of innocence that she wishes the rest of her family could see. Like her sister who made this dress for her originally, or her other brothers who are all that remains of their family's long legacy. But their work has taken them elsewhere this night and so she will just have to settle for telling them the wonderful story when she returns.

"So is that everything?" asks Astrid as she hands Babette money enough for the carriage that will take her to Solitude.

"I think so, Veezara should already be there in case things get hairy, but with how darling our Babette here looks I doubt there with be any hiccups." It is a comment that makes the tiny vampire smirk as she pockets the offered septims.

"For once I think I agree with Malatu," Nazir adds casually before stretching tired limbs. "There really is no one more suited for this job."

Babette smiles again and lines crinkle the corners of eyes that have seen three hundred years pass. "**What can I say? I do so love weddings.**"


End file.
